KTVN Channel 2 – Reno Tahoe Sparks News, Weather, Video

First responders in Nevada now have a little extra protection under the law, with a bill signed Wednesday.

Governor Sandoval signed SB541 on the state capitol grounds, enhancing the penalties for crimes against police, firefighters, and emergency medical personnel.

“We are one of the few states in the country that have this bill in place,” Captain Todd Ingalsbee of the Professional Firefighters of Nevada said. “It does give added protection to our members and hopefully it prevents these crimes from occurring to our first responders.”

SB541 adds a minimum of one year in state prison onto the regular sentence, with a maximum addition of 20 years. It passed both chambers in the legislature unanimously.

At the same ceremony, the governor also signed SB540 into law. That bill approves a memorial for fallen firefighters on state capitol grounds. There is a firefighter memorial currently at Mills Park in Carson City, but fire officials want to move the official memorial to the Capitol Mall, near the peace officers memorial. That bill also passed the legislature unanimously.

“It’s a memorial for the families, basically,” Ingalsbee said. “Obviously they’ve lost their loved ones, so it’s for them to go and kind of reflect on the history of being a fireman.”

The memorial project will be paid for through donations and fundraising, and they expect it to take about a year to complete. Ingalsbee estimated it will cost as much as $300,000.

If you would like to donate to the memorial fund, you can contact the PFFN here.

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